The Third Man
by iMiniRedCupcake
Summary: Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge accidentally stop by the ruins of Salona on their quest to return the Athena Parthenos. What happens when Cupid puts her in a desperate situation? Will she have the strength to admit who is the third man, who she happened to fall in love with?
1. The Daughter of Bellona

Well, hello there! So here I am again, this time writing in English and about a series of books I have been obsessing over last year and this year: Percy Jackson. And yeah, this is a Reynico Fanfiction. I know, I know, weird ship. But hey! There's this whole, **BIG** **LACK**of them around the internet, and I ship them. Hard. Anyway, maybe it'll be a one-shot but I'm kind of thinking of a second part, so I'll leave it open for a next chapter.

Thanks to Upstart Demigod for asking me (and convincing me) to upload this story even before reading it :D

**Disclaimer:**I don't own PJO, HoO or any of its characters. All rights go to our awesome Uncle Rick Riordan.

* * *

Reyna looked across Salona. This was not going well, not at _all._ They had only travelled a few miles since they decided to take the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood. They had just landed right beside the ruins of the amphitheater, and Nico di Angelo had just collapsed on the ground. The statue stood tall behind them, and she didn't really know what a mortal would see. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there was no one in sight.

Coach Gleeson Hedge stood up, after examining Nico's face.

"He needs some water," he decided, swinging his baseball bat. "I'll go see if I can find something for him to drink. It's normal that he's not in a good shape after every jump."

Reyna frowned and crouched down beside the son of Hades. His face was naturally pale, his eyes were as shadowy, and his hair was as shaggy and messy as usual, like he had just gotten out of bed. That image didn't look well, but she couldn't help but find this somewhat _cute._ But there was something else. There was a look of exasperation in his unconscious face, as if something was bothering him even in a fainted state. She couldn't decide if he looked frustrated, scared, or even pained. It looked like a tear wanted to be shed, and getting closer, she noticed his eyes being pressed hardly together, as if he didn't want to wake up. But he wasn't pretending.

"Are you sure it's just the shadow-traveling? He doesn't tend to automatically faint every time, he only gets weak." Reyna stood up, unsure of what to do.

"It's okay, cupcake, he must be exhausted. Watch the statue while I'm gone, it'll only be a few minutes." On that note, he walked away, his baseball bat rolling on his hand.

Reyna took a step behind, realizing she was almost stepping on Shadow Boy. What was wrong with this guy? At least, there wasn't any monster in sight. Although they were never in sight at first.

She looked around, hoping to see if there was any chance Coach Hedge could find a cafeteria of shop here. Nothing. They were in the middle of nowhere. Why had Nico stopped here? It didn't seem like an important place. But still, she noticed something in the air—a feeling of dreaminess and sorrow. The amphitheater beside them caught her attention. Somehow, it looked like it was the source of that sensation. Maybe she could take a look at it. It wouldn't hurt anyone, right? Right?

_Stay focused,_ she ordered herself. She had to stay put, watch over Nico and the Athena Parthenos and wait for Hedge to come back. But there was something about that place… there was something _in_ that place. Reyna could feel it, and she didn't like it. There was something dangerous inside there, and she had the thought that maybe, just maybe, it could have something to do with di Angelo's state right now.

This time, she walked to the amphitheater in her five senses, determined to find out if there was a monster in there, and willing to fight it. As she paced around the place, the feelings of dreaminess and sorrow grew heavier, and they seemed to be fighting over each other. Through the ruins, she could distinguish Nico starting to tremble lightly. But for some reason, she didn't go back to him. Or maybe it was because she felt something getting near her.

"Had trouble on your journey, dear?" a voice from nowhere spoke.

Reyna almost jumped of surprise, because when she turned back, there was nobody behind her.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I am your best friend, and your worst nightmare." The voice introduced itself.

She reached for her spear, and realized she had left it with the statue. Just. Her. Luck. What kind of monster was this?

"Show yourself!" Reyna ordered, her voice as firm as the praetor she was. "Don't be a coward."

"I am not the coward here, Reyna." She shook at the mention of her name. This creature knew her. "And to see me, you will need to do more than ask for it."

She noticed this thing hadn't attacked the statue yet. That was a relief, for now.

"The statue? Oh, now why would I want that." It could read minds? "I just came to talk to you, since you're the one visiting _my_ territory." The voice had moved now, like it was walking around the place, admiring the construction. Reyna identified it as a male voice.

_His_ territory? She tried to make her mind work, tried to remember what was Salona apart from Diocletian's birthplace. Before Diocletian, it was something that had to do with this monster, but her brain wasn't working now. There seemed to be a curtain of smoke inside her head, clouding her thoughts. She tried harder, concentrating on her mythology knowledge, on every being that once crowded this place…

"Cupid!" the name of the god suddenly clicked. "You are here. You came to talk to me. What is going on?"

"Reyna, nobody enters my town without speaking to me." He turned his attention to the unconscious body of Nico di Angelo. "Ask your little friend there."

Reyna's head was spinning now. She recalled the story she had been told by Coach Hedge, back in the Argo II. Nico and Jason had come to Salona to retrieve Diocletian's scepter, and the rumors said something strange had happened there. Did that have to do with the god of love?

"I don't care about your place. In fact, I'm trying to leave." She tried to distract his attention to her again.

"If you want to leave, you have to get rid of me first. You don't want to fight a god, do you?"

Reyna gulped.

"Don't you have some other problems? The conflict between your Greek and Roman side, for example?"

Cupid shook his head in disappointment.

"I thought my mother had already told you that," his tone remained amused. "No matter wherever you go, love is always the same. It's where you least expect it and it's never fair." Now he sounded bored. "Do I have to repeat my speech? You better tell Nico to wake up, he knows better about this subject.

She was starting to get angry now.

"Nico is not able to wake up, because of you! What did you do to him?" she was surprised at her tone, which sounded like she was begging.

"He's still affected, isn't he? He's been to Tartarus and back, but he can't face love twice. Do you see now how this works, dear?"

"Face love? What on Bellona's name are you talking about?" Reyna questioned.

Cupid sighed heavily.

"Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. Daughter of Bellona. Praetor of Camp Jupiter. A beautiful, strong girl, tough and an excellent warrior. Look at her. Why would she have any reasons to feel bad? But look at your face. Look at the masquerade you put on yourself every day. Brokenhearted, and no one knows. Heartsick, and no one knows. Are you really willing to stay this way your whole life?"

Despair started to form in her throat. This was a whole new kind of challenge. She needed a plan, but how can you have a plan against love itself? Even if she ran for her spear, how would it help? She didn't even know where Cupid was. She didn't know what to say, either. There was no answer to what he was saying. Love couldn't be so… cruel. This was monster of huge proportions. She knew it to be only sorrow throughout her whole life but she didn't expect it to be even worse. She didn't want to admit this either, but the image of love Aphrodite showed was ten times better than this. She started to miss the goddess by now, and this was only her son.

"Reyna!" a pained voice behind them shouted. Nico's voice. "Don't listen to him! He'll crush you to pieces."

Reyna turned around to see Nico crawling towards the amphitheater, trying to reach them and stand up at the same time. She tried to shout back, but Cupid was determined to keep her attention on him.

"You have your own story of tragedy and abandon haunting you. You worked for Circe, tried to give up on men. But Percy Jackson and her girlfriend blew up your home. Then you found Camp Jupiter. You became praetor; you had friends by your side. Jason Grace came into your life. He was the first one to turn you down."

"Stop it!" Reyna pleaded, screaming by now. "Why are you talking about that? How do you know about it?"

"I am love, Reyna. And you almost fell in love with him. Almost. Because he disappeared. Thanks to Juno, he disappeared and left you with all the weight of the camp on your own shoulders, and found another girl. He came back to you with his new girlfriend; he found true love in front of your face and never regretted it! Not only that, but you found Percy. Percy Jackson also came from nowhere and you also fell for him. And he rejected you, too. The story repeated itself, and his girlfriend appeared in front of you, right before your home was bombed. Each one of them forgot about you, and turned their attention to someone else. You were never good enough. You were never an option."

"Shut up!" she fell to her knees. This was too hard for her. Tears were freely strolling down her face, falling to the ground, one after another. "They weren't… They aren't…"

Right then, she felt someone's arms wrap around her. She looked back to see Nico di Angelo hugging her.

"It's okay. He's trying to get into your mind, touch your sensible part. Don't listen to him." His voice sounded soft. Reyna didn't know he could have a sweet voice, and she also didn't understand how he could be so calm right now. But when she looked into his eyes, she saw he actually wasn't. His eyes shone with fear. Was he trying to be strong for her?

"If you want to leave, you will have to listen to me," Cupid insisted. "Poor Reyna. I bet you didn't actually want this boy on your quest."

Nico looked down. Still, he didn't let go of her.

"It wasn't like that!" She cried. "It wasn't."

Cupid laughed a deep, sarcastic laugh which coming from love, sounded more evil than Ares's laughter.

"I don't mind," Nico looked at her again. "This is usual for me. Don't be afraid. He played with me once, too."

"I see you've regained your strength, son of Hades. You must really care for this girl, to be here looking so tough. Your feelings have changed since your last visit."

"You don't scare me any more than you did that day." Nico looked at Reyna, trying to lift her spirits. She was crumbling. Nothing she had ever lived had prepared her for this.

"As for you, dear," Cupid started again, still not appearing. "Don't be afraid to put your feelings out there. It might help you, you know."

"I don't have anything to 'put out there', Cupid. I don't need this."

"You entered my territory, you accept the consequences!" He chided. "You can't run away from love. If you want to get out of here, then face your feelings!"

"Stop this, Eros!" Nico intervened. "You already did this to me. Don't hurt _her_! She doesn't deserve it."

"Oh, but she does. Do you know what is going on inside her heart, Nico di Angelo? I think she's pretty sure. You fell for two men, dear, and both of them pushed you away. Now you go for a third one and he is known for never loving back…"

"I don't want… I only thought…" Reyna couldn't find words for this. "Why is he bringing this up?"

"Reyna, don't push it anymore. Just give him what he wants and he'll leave you alone."

"No… no. I don't want to." She stated, looking at the place where Cupid should be.

"Nobody wants to."

"But everybody has to," Cupid observed. "Tell him, Reyna. Tell him that he's not the only coward here. Tell him that you didn't want him on this quest, and not because he's a son of Hades."

"Never!" Reyna started trembling right on the spot. "I will fight you if I must!"

"You can't fight love, Reyna. You can't fight love if death itself is kinder." Nico told her. "Just tell him and get this over with, I won't mind."

"You don't understand." She sobbed, covering her face in her hands. "I'm over Jason and Percy, I can tell you that. But I can't say…"

"Tell him who the third man is, Reyna. Let's see if you are strong enough to stare at love in the face. If you want to leave, you have to see me. If you want to see me, you have to share."

The son of Hades still hadn't let go of Reyna.

"There _is_ a third man," Reyna confessed, sighing heavily. "I wanted Frank to—"

"It seems di Angelo isn't the only one who likes to hide, since you keep lying." Cupid interrupted. "But at least he had the strength."

Right after he said that, Nico started screaming a deep, guttural scream, which made a crack open on the floor, letting out dozens of skeletons. Dead roman warriors, which seemed to be acquaintances of him. They threw themselves at the place where the two demigods had heard the voice before. But the love god only laughed cruelly.

"Did your skeletons work that day, Nico? I think not."

Nico di Angelo ignored his taunts and kept making the skeletons attack him.

"What do you think about this, Reyna? Will you let _him_ fight _your_ battle? I knew you weren't brave enough."

When she heard this, Reyna gave up. She couldn't let anyone else fight her battles. She lifted her left hand and put it on Nico's chest. "Cut off the skeletons."

Nico didn't need to be told twice. He immediately raised his hand and the skeletons returned to the crack on the ground, which closed quickly.

"What do you choose, daughter of Bellona: you can run away from your feelings and never leave this place, or you can be brave and face them. You don't have much time, Camp Half-Blood awaits you."

And after saying this, Cupid became visible. Reyna absorbed his blood red eyes, his wings, his quiver and bow, his handsome and harsh face.

"I choose bravery." She said. "The third man is… I am in love with—"

In that very moment, she was interrupted by Coach Hedge, who came in, bat in hands, yelling, "DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

He circled Reyna and Nico to smash the creature in front of them, and stopped in his tracks when he saw who he was.

"Eros," the satyr put down his bat. "I didn't recognize you."

"Gleeson Hedge," Cupid greeted. "Long time no see."

The satyr bowed, strangely polite. "It's been some time since our talk."

Nico and Reyna looked at each other, both confused.

"How's your wife?" Cupid asked, like in a conversation between two friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time. "I heard she's pregnant. Is the baby alright?"

This made the two teenagers almost jump. "Wife?" Reyna asked, wiping her tears and trying to put on a brave face. "Baby?"

Hedge started rubbing his hand on the bat. "Uh, yes, sir. They are waiting for me in Long Island."

"What is going on?" Nico spoke with his eyes open like plates.

Cupid smiled archly. "You should go protect your statue, Gleeson. It's better to come home with a gift."

"Yes, sir." Coach Hedge bowed again, and left as if he was hypnotized by his words.

The god turned his attention back to the demigods.

"Very well, Reyna". He started again. "You were saying?"

Suddenly, the situation hit her hard: she still wasn't free. To leave the amphitheater, to go back to Coach Hedge and the Athena Parthenos, to go back to her home, she had to tell the truth.

"I…" her voice broke. She had been so close, how could she not do it now? "I can't."

Cupid's smile turned into an angry face.

"I knew you couldn't do it." The god of love stared straight at her at her with his cold eyes. "You don't have the strength. You claim to be brave and tough, but can't even—"

"I am in love with the son of Hades!" Reyna shouted so loud, even Coach Hedge could hear from the statue. Her words surprised even herself. New tears rolled down her face. "Nico di Angelo is the third man. That is why I didn't want him on this quest. But don't _ever_ question my strength or bravery. Ever."

Nico jumped back, astounded. Cupid, as he always did when someone faced love, smiled sympathetically. "I won't. You have proved yourself, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano."

Reyna didn't look happy. "Are you pleased? Don't you see what you just made me do? At least let me get out of here."

"Don't underestimate love, daughter of Bellona. It may be useful more than once. And this just might be the start."

She looked down, starting to blush. "What do you mean this might—?"

But when she lifted her head, Cupid was gone.

* * *

Reyna tried to find him again. She went around the amphitheater, searching for Cupid. She had faced her feelings, alright. But she couldn't look at Nico di Angelo in the face.

"Reyna, he's gone, you won't see him again." Nico followed her, trying to stop her from making a hole in the ground, looking for the god. "We can leave now."

But she didn't listen. Every time he walked up to her, saying it was time to go, she ignored him. Until he took her hand.

"Believe me; you don't want to search for love." Her cheeks were bright red, and he noticed this. "You might find it."

"I…" Reyna felt a lump forming in her throat. "Nico, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I didn't expect…"

"It's okay," he calmed her. "You don't need to explain."

"Right."

"We better go back to Coach Hedge and the statue."

She gulped. "Right."

"You aren't going to say 'right' forever, are you?"

She gazed down, where he was still holding her hand. "No. Sorry."

And they left the amphitheater, still holding hands.

* * *

Please review! :)


	2. The Son of Hades

**Hey demigods! Here I am again with the second chapter of this story :D I know it's been too long, but you see, I usually take my time to write and check to make a good chapter :3 So anyway, I'm not sure how it'll be, because I usually only write one-shots as they're easier and I take too long to write. I'm thinking it might be a trilogy, but if I get excited enough with this story it could be longer than that *-* So yay, enjoy, read and review please!**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own any of the PJO or HoO characters or the backup story. All rights go to Rick Troll Riordan.**

* * *

The lights of the campfire glowed in front of the trio. The Athena Parthenos stood stall on its pedestal. Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge had decided to camp right outside the ruins of Salona; far enough from Cupid, but far enough from civilization. They had taken some sandwiches from their supplies and were finishing dinner by the fire.

The satyr swallowed his fifth sandwich, plastic and all, and stood up.

"Alright kids, I've had enough. You two can stay here some more if you want to, but I don't want any Percy and Annabeth scene, or else," he took his baseball bat in his hands. "You'll meet the fury of my baby. Goodnight."

And with that, he walked away and disappeared into his tent.

"Percy and Annabeth scene?" Reyna asked, confused.

"Yeah. It seems when they were on the Argo II, searching for me, they sneaked off one night and fell asleep on the stables." Nico told her. "Frank found them in the morning. Coach freaked out, of course."

Reyna didn't know what to think of that. She figured out Percy would be that immature, but Annabeth always seemed correct. Maybe she had her teenage side, too. Then again, Hedge had said he didn't want that to happen between Nico and her.

A light blush started to form on her cheeks. This was _so_ not like her. "That must have been embarrassing."

"It was mostly shocking to my sister."

That was Hazel Lavesque. That girl was a member of the legion, who had proved herself well. Still, it was hard not to feel a bit shaky near a son of Pluto. Nico was another story. Somehow, she had gotten used to his presence. She'd grown to like him, even. Or even more, as Cupid had said. As _she_ had said. Was Hazel that old-fashioned?

"Is she a correct girl? I tend to picture Frank like that."

"She is… classic."

"Oh." It was hard to see the meaning behind those words. But she decided to let it go. "So Coach Hedge has a wife. And a baby."

"I guess so," Nico ate another bite of his sandwich. "I don't think he would've agreed to leave the Argo II with no arguments."

"Right."

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Nico's lips curve into a smile.

"You haven't eaten anything," he pointed out.

"I'm not hungry." She said, staring at the fire.

Nico finished half of his sandwich. When he looked at the bag where they were, he noticed there weren't any of them left.

He rolled his eyes. "You want some?" He asked, offering the rest of his sandwich.

Reyna looked at it for a second, and reluctantly took it.

To her surprise, he laughed. It wasn't common to see Nico di Angelo laughing at all. "What's so funny?"

"Your attitude. Your lack of appetite. The look on your face. Your Spanish accent." He looked really amused by now.

To her, this wasn't any fun. "Are you laughing at me?"

He turned to her.

"Are you _that_ worried about Eros?"

Reyna looked down. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. After Cupid's talk, being around Nico had become more uncomfortable and at the same time comfortable than ever.

"It's not every day you speak to love itself," she explained. "In front of the person you're talking about. But he said it had happened to you, too."

Nico's face turned shadowy.

"It did."

Reyna gulped. She wasn't sure about asking the next question, but she did it anyway. "How was it like?"

He looked down. This side of him was the usual one; the one Coach Hedge had told her about, the one she heard he showed on the Argo II while spending his days on the mast.

"It was as hard," he started. "Except that I wasn't with that person. I was with Jason."

"I heard so." She looked at him. "Did he threaten you with something?"

"Well, we needed Diocletian's scepter, so I had to do what he asked." He hesitated. "It's not a moment I like to remember."

Reyna looked down, playing with her sandwich. "You don't have to tell me."

Nico looked at the distance. He seemed to be lost in those painful memories. "It's something complicated."

She started to feel uncomfortable again.

"I don't want to hear the name of that person, just so you know." She said, and tried to laugh, but it was hard with the hurt face he had.

"It's the only way you would understand."

She looked up at him. The possibilities started to form in her head. Annabeth was the most probable. Then there was Piper, or maybe another girl from Camp Half-Blood, or even a mortal. Several names crossed her mind, but none of them seemed to fit. The only name she could imagine beside his was… well, hers.

"I can bet you wouldn't expect the answer." He said, as if reading her thoughts.

Reyna held back a desperate sigh.

"Nico, if you don't want to, it's okay. Although I can also bet it's not something from another world." She tried to sound like the praetor she was, but somehow, that firm part of her couldn't find its way out in this moment. But she had to try. "We are demigods. _Nothing_ is weird for us and _everything_ is about us. But teenage crushes are common. Believe me, I know about that stuff."

Nico rested his hands on his legs. Reyna finished her half of the sandwich.

"There are different kinds of crushes," Nico tried to explain, his face as nervous as it looked when they were confronting Cupid. "I, for instance, had a crush on Percy."

That confession caught her unguarded.

Did he just say… Percy Jackson?

Her head started to spin. Flashbacks crossed her mind. Nico di Angelo, the Third Man, the boy she was in love with, the one she thought could finally be something else than false hopes…

_Oh. My. Gods._

"Oh."

Nico sighed. Was that in his voice… disappointment?

"Go on. Stare at me strangely. Walk away. Do whatever you want." He turned away.

She didn't exactly know what to say, but staring at him like he told her was not going to be an option.

Instead, Reyna put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. It's okay, I don't mind."

He seemed to refuse to look at her.

"That is not how I thought you would react after what happened today."

She sighed, feeling complicated. "What I said today doesn't affect that."

"It does, actually. It does."

Reyna raised an eyebrow. She was clever, sure, but it was really difficult to understand this boy. "What do you—?"

But before she could even finish her question, he left for the ruins.

After running for a few minutes, she found him between some high grasses beside the amphitheater. He was walking around, maybe lost, but it didn't look like he was trying to find a way out.

"Nico!" She caught her breath when she finally got to him. "Why did you leave?"

He turned to see her. His face was red and his eyes were bloodshot. Had he been crying a few seconds ago?

"Are you okay?" She asked; worry blooming in her voice and face.

"It's no big deal," he responded reluctantly, trying to act cold and failing. "I just need some time alone."

Reyna didn't want to hear this. Here she was, alone in the middle of nowhere, sheltered by high grasses which hid her from the world, in front of the boy she was in love with crying under the beautiful night sky and shining stars, with no one around to interrupt them, and the only thing she wanted to do was to comfort him. But as always in her life, it wasn't that simple.

"I'm not leaving you here," she said immediately. He looked at her surprised. "As a praetor, I mean. I can't let my partner in a quest be wandering all alone in the middle of nowhere," She corrected rapidly, which instantly changed his expression to one of resignation. "It is my duty to—"

"Can we forget about duties for tonight?" He said indifferent, turning his back to her and already walking away.

And so, Reyna played her last card.

"You want to forget about duties?" She exclaimed, walking behind him. "Then let's get something clear, because I don't know what to think."

"What do you want to know?" His voice resounded from a few steps forward, but she couldn't see him because of the high grass.

She took a deep breath and stopped on her tracks. A couple of seconds later, she felt his steps come to a stop.

"What did Cupid mean when he said your feelings had changed?"

At first nothing happened. Then, out of the grass in front of her, Nico di Angelo appeared hesitant.

"Do you really want to know what he meant?"

"I do."

When she said this, he took a step closer to her. Maybe it wasn't enough to feel his breath, but it sure was closer than normal personal space. She couldn't help but feel her heartbeat accelerating to a thousand miles per minute, as she tried to control the blush. Nico looked so deep in his thoughts and the moment and _her,_ that he didn't look uncomfortable at all.

"You're alone, Reyna." He told her, giving her the friendly reminder of something she noticed every day. "You have lots of people around you, but I can notice loneliness in your eyes."

She looked away from him; scared that he might notice the glow again, scared that might look through her with his piercing dark eyes, thinking that he would change his mind about the loneliness in her eyes if he didn't look at her. But he couldn't have been righter.

Her voice came out little and defenseless. "That doesn't have anything to do with this."

Nico sighed exasperated. "It does, Reyna. There are many things that you don't realize they have a lot to do with this." His voice remained firm but calm. "I am alone, too. I was rejected, too. Do not think I don't understand."

That's when it dawned on her. "You understand. You understand this. You understand me."

"Not only that," he stated, "but I know how needed you feel. I feel like that every day since Bianca left."

Bianca, his little sister. She had heard about her and her quest. He took another step forward, and now she _could_ feel his breath. Somehow, it didn't smell like sandwiches, like hers. It smelt fresh like mint. Was that a capability of Hades's kids? If that was the case, she liked it. A lot.

"Whether my feelings have changed or not, it doesn't change the fact that in this moment, you and I are the same."

Reyna wondered what would happen if she leaned over and closed that unwanted distance. Nico was probably thinking the same, because they were now only inches apart.

"Say it and I'll stop," he warned, getting even closer.

"I don't… want to…"

And that's when she gave in. That's when she thought it was _fine._ That's when she was willing to close the distance between them, and he was, too.

That's when a pair of hooves appeared out of the grass.

"Cupcakes!" Coach Hedge shouted as they quickly distanced again. "Where did you two go?"

Nico stayed silent. Reyna cursed in Latin under her breath.

"We heard a strange noise and thought it was a monster," she excused themselves, and realized she was breathing for the first time in minutes. "You never know in Salona."

Coach looked at them confused, and raised his eyebrows. "With no weapons?"

They both hesitated.

"I was planning to summon some skeletons. The thing felt like it moved fast." Nico lied. It wasn't the best story, but Coach Hedge seemed to buy it.

"Well, cupcakes, I don't really think you two should be wandering around here alone, without me to protect you, and even less without your weapons." He reprimanded them, "Next time you better call me first if you don't want to get—"

_Creek!_

Out of nowhere, a green, enormous hydra with multiple heads appeared in front of and over the trio. Its heads –Reyna figured they were at least five– spit fire from the moment they saw the two demigods and satyr, setting on flames the grass all around the amphitheater. Coach Hedge let out a squeak, but Reyna and Nico just stared at the monster, calculating.

The satyr immediately took out his bat to show his strength, even though he had recently proved otherwise, but the kids kept their eyes on the hydra.

"This is only _our_ luck," Nico noted.

He really did understand.

"About the monster or our pretty little scene a minute ago?" She asked.

This time Reyna could get a blush out of him.

"Both."

The hydra attacked, and Coach Hedge immediately jumped to the side, almost eaten by one of its heads. Reyna stayed in her place, trying to think of a way to fight without any weapons. What could she do? This was something you didn't fight with words, as you did with Cupid. And her physical combat skills wouldn't be enough. Nico summoned a wave of skeletons and charged at the monster, aiming at its stomach.

"Get back, Reyna. I'll handle this," he ordered.

She didn't know how to argument this. "What? You're still too weak to fight, you can't battle this alone!"

"Just step back, I'll protect you!"

The hydra tried to wave off the skeletons, but they were really strong, and they kept coming from the crack on the ground Nico opened with a scream.

_Protect her?_

Reyna hadn't heard those words in a long time. The last time she heard someone tell her that, it was her sister Hylla, when they were leaving San Juan. Ever since their separation, and her arrival at Camp Jupiter, she had been alone. Surrounded by people and a couple of friends, sure, but still alone. Always the praetor, the leader, the highest rank, the boss. They looked up to her, and at some point it got tiring. But Nico was here now, promising to protect her, and she was going to… she was going to…

The daughter of Bellona took a step behind and let his fellow demigod fight.

"Come on, cupcake, you can do better than that! Kick it in the head!" Coach Hedge shouted from behind Reyna.

"Which one?!" Nico shouted from under the monster, "Reyna, tell him to shut up!"

"He is doing okay!" She told the satyr, "Now shut up and watch. I'm counting on you, Son of Hades! Don't disappoint me!" She shouted to him with a smile.

Since that phrase, Nico seemed to start fighting twice better. His skeletons kept coming and the hydra started to fight worse. Out of the blue, he took out his three-foot-long black sword, which startled the daughter of Bellona. How had he done that? She wanted her armor, too. But in these thoughts, a ball of fire spit by one of the heads of the monster almost hit her, if it weren't for Nico, who cut it out because of the adrenaline of the moment. Bad choice, as it grew two more heads in its place. It was a matter of seconds before they attacked him, but he bravely thrust his sword into the monster's stomach and made it back off. The hydra cringed and the whole place shook.

"It's working!" Reyna cheered.

But suddenly, one head of the monster took Reyna from behind and held her in the air, squeezing the air out of her lungs, suffocating her. Coach Hedge started screaming immediately, and Nico didn't take long to notice. He turned to see her face, blue because of the lack of air and she could do nothing about it. Reyna had gotten used to be useless since that morning, but this was just _obnoxious._ A hydra was strangulating her and Nico had come and saved her _again._ He made his way to her with his sword, avoided the fire from the eight heads, and stood in front of the helpless hero in front of him.

"Don't you dare touch her, you filthy monstrosity!" The Son of Hades shouted as he ran to cut its head to free Reyna.

_Filthy monstrosity,_ she thought, _I like that._

As soon as she was out of the monster's reach, she crawled backwards to catch her breath in a "safer" place. Meanwhile, Nico gave all he had to kill the hydra, this time with nine heads to fight with, but much more determination. Right after finishing the monster off, he ran to Reyna. She was lying on the ground, with Coach Hedge fanning her with his hand and throwing water from a bottle all over her face. Nico knelt down next to her and took a closer look at her face. It was still red from suffocation, breathing harder than he had ever seen in his life, with her eyes open like plates. And stupidly, as it was the worst time to think of something like this, he wanted to close that distance. Sure, their momentum had been ruined… CPR?

"You are _not_ giving me mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing," she said.

Nico laughed, glad to know that if she could be joking, that meant she was fine enough. "Don't worry, I hadn't even thought of that."

* * *

"Unbelievable," Coach Gleeson Hedge paced around the camp in front of the two demigods sitting in front of the campfire. "Irresponsible. Even selfish, may I dare say. I had never expected that of you two."

Ever since they had gotten back to their camp outside Salona, the satyr had been reprimanding Nico and Reyna because of the hydra incident. The two kids couldn't help but stare at each other and try not to laugh. Probably, when they got back to Camp Half-Blood, Hedge would put a cowbell on them, like he wanted to do with Percy and Annabeth. Of course, the memories of the little scene they had near the amphitheater _had_ to come back to Reyna and make her blush. This had been a very strange day for her: being brutally attacked by the god of love in a psychological way, almost die suffocated by a hydra, almost kissing Nico di Angelo, the Third Man –who she just happened to be in love with, by the way–, and end up finding out she had done nothing useful.

"Teenagers today don't understand that if they want to go on a date, they must wait until the quest is over!" The satyr exclaimed, bringing Reyna back to Earth.

"Coach, we understand, but you're missing one thing," Nico noted, "Reyna and I are not dating."

He finished his statement with a hint of nervousness in his voice, which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"What?" Coach looked surprised. He scratched his chin, thoughtfully. "Well, uh, if you kids _'are not'_ dating, as you claim," he continued, "Then explain what were you actually doing alone an hour ago.

They both fell silent.

"Stuff," Reyna cleared.

"Yeah, stuff." Nico agreed in a small voice.


End file.
